Job Discussion Forums

camraman · Joined: 15 Mar 2007 Posts: 5

nowhere on my visa does it say not permitted to work , unless it`s written in arabic . I should know I have 4 of them in my passport .
Iwas sent an offer of a contract when I was in england . It stated that I would recieve a 12 month visa , but only have to work 11. I`m not sure what else I could have asked for .I`ve worked in China , Indonesia and Russia, in all these places , you arrive on a visa , then the school , university , whoever upgrade your visa if required. Although I`ve been told many differant stories since I`ve been here , the one that makes the most sense, it may not be true , but it makes sense , was that they could not issue any more Iqarmas , as they did not employ enough Saudis to justify them .
I care not anymore , 8 weeks maximum I`m on my way home , and I won`t bother to look back

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

Is that how you teach your students to write ? I do typos but at least I have an excuse.

And someone else pointed out it is IQAMA - I Q A M A

Middle East Beast · Joined: 05 Mar 2008 Posts: 836 Location: Up a tree

I'm not goeng ta perticipate in whut has becumb a favurite past-time fur sum folks hear--judgin' yer writin' on a discussion board. I guess they really miss being in that classroom.

C'mon, ya'll, lets give 'im a break, ya hear! He just got screwed by the Saudis (commonplace nowadays).

Anyway, we must have different visas because I'm looking at mine as I write this message, and this is the visa that both the recruiter and employer swore were LEGAL, i.e. I could enter KSA on this visa and sign an employment contract with a Saudi employer. It's clear that they lied, and when I fired off a message about that and specific issues in the contract I heard nothing more from them. BUSTED!

Regardless, good luck in your future vocational endeavors. Might be a good idea to avoid KSA. I actually rejected 2 crummy contracts from Saudi employers this year. It's gettin' worse there. I think there are four letters in the English alphabet for which Saudis have no respect: T-E-F-L.

MEB Cool

camraman · Joined: 15 Mar 2007 Posts: 5

actually when i`m teaching students to write i point out that in e mails to friends , or on boards , such as this , it tends only to be people with their heads stuck up their arse who worry too much about basics .
also i`m more interested , even in formal letters and the like ,in telling them that using the language is , in the first case, more important than putting commas , full stops etc in the right place . this can come at a much later date .
finally 2 points , what is your excuse for typos , and get a life.

Middle East Beast · Joined: 05 Mar 2008 Posts: 836 Location: Up a tree

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

My excuse for typos ? Diabetic retinopathy and macular degeneration.

Do you have an excuse for being rude ? Perhaps a medical condition ?

camraman · Joined: 15 Mar 2007 Posts: 5

it was meant for scot47
this is now closed as far as i`m concerned

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

There is enough information available in the public domain (eg here on Daves) pointing out the perils of these visas.

I do not have much sympathy for those who come anyway and then find they are in doodoo.

Middle East Beast · Joined: 05 Mar 2008 Posts: 836 Location: Up a tree

jaffa · Joined: 25 Oct 2012 Posts: 403

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

Middle East Beast · Joined: 05 Mar 2008 Posts: 836 Location: Up a tree

It's hard to have sympathy for people, i.e. human beings, who make mistakes? Well gee whiz, I know i make 'em, so who am I to slam other individuals who make 'em? How does that benefit anyone?

And to clarify, "Not Permitted to Work" is in English on my visa.

Regarding knowing what's in Arabic on visas, it would seem to be as important to have the Arabic side of employments contracts translated before accepting them...do you ? If so, my hat's off to you.

MEB Cool

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

Middle East Beast · Joined: 05 Mar 2008 Posts: 836 Location: Up a tree

I see no evidence that camraman ignored the warnings. His mistake was trusting the employer to be truthful. I don't expect every TEFLer to check Dave's Cafe before taking a job. I provide what information I can and hope that people find it, but I'm not going to blame them if they don't.

I want to encourage people to share these experiences on this forum. Coming down on them is not going to do that.

The problem lies with the liars in KSA and representing KSA, not with the person who is duped. If someone buys a defective product I'm not going to say to them, "Well, you should have known better." It's the manufacturer's fault, not the customer's.

MEB Cool

cmp45 · Joined: 17 Aug 2004 Posts: 1475 Location: KSA